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Southwest Lower Michigan Weather History
The Weather History for the Month of October
- 10/1/1897
- Temperatures reach record highs with both Lansing and Grand Rapids hitting 89 degrees. It is the highest temperature ever recorded in October at Grand Rapids.
- 10/1/1974
- Cloudy and cold weather prevails with high temperatures in the 40s and snowflakes observed at Muskegon.
- 10/2/1880
- A tornado cut a 15 mile long path of destruction from southern Barry and Eaton Counties into northern Calhoun County. Two children were killed and several other people injured near Bellevue, when the tornado picked up a house and carried it 200 feet before it disintegrated. The roar of the tornado could be heard six miles away.
- 10/3/1898
- Lansing hits 90 degrees for its highest October temperature.
- 10/3/1954
- Heavy rains cause some minor flooding across southwest Lower Michigan. Grand Rapids and Muskegon both have their wettest October days on record with rainfall totals around 3.5 inches.
- 10/3/1974
- Temperatures plummet into the 20s as very cold weather continues. Record lows include 22 degrees at Lansing, 23 at Grand Rapids, and 25 at Muskegon.
- 10/4/1935
- Snowflakes are observed across Lower Michigan and Grand Rapids has a record cold high temperature of 42 degrees.
- 10/4/1951
- Summer-like weather prevailed with lows in the mid 60s and highs in the 80s. Record highs include 87 degrees at Grand Rapids, 86 at Lansing and 83 at Muskegon.
- 10/5/2005
- Balmy weather prevails across Lower Michigan, especially along the coast of Lake Michigan, where the low temperature for the day at Muskegon is a record warm 70 degrees, followed by a high of 80 degrees.
- 10/6/1998
- A squall line moved across Lower Michigan producing tornadoes, downbursts, and some flooding. A tornado struck Ferris State University in Big Rapids, injuring seven students. Another tornado moved from northern Isabella County into southern Clare County, damaging several homes. Total damage with the storms was more than a million dollars.
- 10/7/1965
- A tornado destroyed a trailer and several outbuildings southeast of Clare in Isabella County.
- 10/7/2007
- Temperatures reach record highs as very warm weather prevails across Lower Michigan from the 5th to the 8th. Grand Rapids sets three record highs in a row with temperatures in the upper 80s from the 6th to the 8th.
- 10/8/1871
- The worst wildfires in the history of the Great Lakes region occur as strong south winds combine with tinder dry conditions. The fires leveled several areas of Michigan and Wisconsin, including the cities of Peshtigo, Holland, Manistee, and Port Huron. At least 1200 people died, about half of them in the Peshtigo, Wisconsin fire. That same night, the Great Chicago Fire erupted, destroying much of the city.
- 10/9/1989
- Record cold temperatures put the freeze on southwest Lower Michigan for the second day in a row. Records include 23 degrees at Grand Rapids and Lansing and 24 degrees at Muskegon. The record cold is accompanied by scattered snow flurries.
- 10/10/1879
- Southwest Lower Michigan is in the midst of a long spell of warm weather. Lansing rises into the 80s for seven out of the eight days from October 5th through the 12th. This includes the record high of 84 degrees on October 10th, which was preceded by a record 83 degrees on the 9th and followed by 85 degrees on the 11th.
- 10/11/1912
- A late evening tornado hit Gratiot County. Five farms sustained damage along a five mile-long path. An elderly woman was killed and her son injured as their home was blown apart southwest of Alma.
- 10/12/2006
- A record early season snowstorm brings up to eight inches of snow to southwest Lower Michigan. Tree damage and power outages were extensive around Hastings in Barry County as the wet, heavy snow clings to the tree branches, which still had leaves on them.
- 10/13/1874
- A record cold snap struck Lower Michigan with Lansing plunging to 16 degrees.
- 10/13/1975
- Record warmth occurred with highs in the 80s. The 87 degrees at Grand Rapids was a record for the date and the highest temperature for so late in the season.
- 10/14/1954
- A tornado destroyed an empty schoolhouse at Ashley in Gratiot County. It also took the roof off one house and a porch off of another.
- 10/15/1899
- Muskegon hits 86 degrees for their highest October temperature on record.
- 10/15/1944
- Cold air is firmly entrenched in Lower Michigan with record lows of 23 degrees at Grand Rapids and 25 degrees at Muskegon.
- 10/16/1943
- A snowstorm drops an inch or two of slushy snow across southwest Lower Michigan. The high temperature at Grand Rapids and Lansing is only 39 degrees.
- 10/17/1952
- After a frosty morning with lows in the 20s, snowflakes fly across western Lower Michigan. An inch of snow accumulates at Muskegon.
- 10/17/2002
- Cold weather arrives across western Lower Michigan with high temperatures only around 40 degrees and periods of wet snow mixing in with a cold rain.
- 10/18/1834
- One of the first recorded tornadoes in Michigan strikes Kalamazoo, damaging several homes and businesses.
- 10/18/1972
- It is an early taste of winter as a snowstorm hits Lower Michigan. The storm drops 4.6 inches of snow at Muskegon, the heaviest snow on record for so early in the season there.
- 10/18/1976
- A cold snap drops the temperature at Grand Rapids to 19 degrees for an early season record.
- 10/18/2007
- A tornado with top winds estimated at about 130 mph strikes Williamston in Ingham County. Two people are killed when their mobile home is demolished. Several other homes are heavily damaged.
- 10/19/1989
- Four to five inches of snow falls across Lower Michigan as a record early season snowfall causes power outages and travel delays.
- 10/20/1992
- One to three inches of snow blankets southwest Lower Michigan at the culmination of three days of wintry weather with lows around 30 degrees and highs in the lower 40s.
- 10/21/1974
- It is one of the coldest mornings on record in western Lower Michigan with temperatures falling into the teens. Grand Rapids falls to 18 degrees, the lowest October temperature on record.
- 10/22/1953
- An extended October warm spell culminates with record highs around 80 degrees. At Grand Rapids, it is the third consecutive day with record high temperatures.
- 10/23/1955
- A cold front moving into warm and humid air results in severe thunderstorms across southwest Lower Michigan. High winds and hail caused considerable damage to windows, roofs, automobiles and trees as a severe storm passed about 15 miles south of Grand Rapids.
- 10/23/1959
- A tornado struck near Evart on Osceola County around 4 PM, with only minor tree damage.
- 10/23/1963
- Michigan is in the midst of a spell of record warm weather. Lansing reaches 80 degrees or higher on five consecutive days from the 22nd to the 26th.
- 10/24/1967
- A tornado injures four people as it destroys a trailer in Monterrey Township, Allegan County.
- 10/24/2001
- A squall line moves across southern Lower Michigan producing widespread wind damage and several tornadoes. The town of Schoolcraft in Kalamazoo County is hit by winds estimated up to 100 mph, causing extensive tree damage and some structural damage. The town of Marshall in Calhoun County also sustains some damage to homes as winds gust between 60 and 80 mph.
- 10/25/1962
- Snow accumulates an inch or two across southwest Lower Michigan as an October cold snap continues. Low temperatures fall into the 20s at most locations for four straight days from the 24th to the 27th.
- 10/26/1869
- Several inches of snow pile up across southwest Lower Michigan. The 5.5 inches at Lansing is a record for early season snowfall and the high temperature there only reaches 34 degrees.
- 10/27/1967
- The heaviest October snowstorm on record strikes southwest Lower Michigan with widespread amounts greater than 6 inches. A total of 8.4 inches at Grand Rapids is almost double the amount of the next greatest October snowstorm.
- 10/28/1869
- Michigan is in the grip of an icy cold wave. The temperature falls into the teens for eight consecutive days at Lansing, where it is the coldest October on record.
- 10/29/1925
- October feels more like December as snow and cold prevail for much of the last half of the month. Measurable snow falls for three consecutive days with high temperatures at or near freezing from October 28th to the 30th.
- 10/30/1988
- Record cold temperatures in the teens and lower 20s close out the month. The low of 18 degrees at Grand Rapids on this day ties the record for the coldest ever recorded in October.
- 10/31/1917
- One of the coldest Octobers on record ends on a wintry note with about an inch of snow and high temperatures only in the lower 30s.
- 10/31/1950
- Halloween treats Lower Michigan to balmy temperatures. Grand Rapids hits 79 degrees and Lansing 77, both record highs for the date.
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